AB097. Social capital and social support as moderators in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health among Filipino domestic workers in Macao
Abstract

AB097. Social capital and social support as moderators in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health among Filipino domestic workers in Macao

Xiaoyu Duan1,2, Timothy S. Sumerlin1, Brian J. Hall1,3

1Center for Global Health Equity, New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China; 2Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; 3Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Background: Migrant domestic workers (MDW) face a heightened risk of poor mental health while working abroad, partly due to perceived discrimination. Social networks, including cognitive and structural social capital and perceived social support, are often viewed as protective. However, findings are mixed, with some studies reporting paradoxical effects, namely higher social capital or support associated with worse mental health. The objective of this study is to assess whether social capital and social support moderate the association between perceived discrimination and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Filipino MDWs in Macao, China.

Methods: A total of 1,362 Filipino MDWs in Macao completed self- administered surveys between November 2016 and August 2017, using respondent-driven sampling. Demographics, perceived discrimination, anxiety and depression, cognitive and structural social capital, and perceived social support were collected. Multiple linear regression assessed the association between perceived discrimination and mental health, and tested moderation by social capital and social support.

Results: Perceived discrimination was positively associated with both depression (β=0.22, P<0.001) and anxiety (β=0.20, P<0.001). Structural social capital showed a positive independent association with depressive symptoms (β=0.07, P=0.003), whereas cognitive social capital was independently associated with higher anxiety symptoms (β=0.24, P=0.041). Perceived social support showed no significant difference with either mental health outcome. No moderating effects of social capital or social support were observed in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health.

Conclusions: Perceived discrimination is a robust predictor of anxiety and depression among Filipino MDWs. While elements of social capital were independently associated with mental health outcomes, these associations varied by domain and outcome, and no buffering effects were found for social capital or social support. Further research is needed to explore the roles of social networks in this population and to inform interventions aimed at reducing discrimination and strengthening social resources.

Keywords: Mental health; migrant domestic workers (MDW); perceived discrimination; social capital; social support

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-26-ab097
Cite this abstract as: Duan X, Sumerlin TS, Hall BJ. AB097. Social capital and social support as moderators in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health among Filipino domestic workers in Macao. J Public Health Emerg 2026;10:AB097.

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